


Honoring His Vow

by beargirl1393



Category: Sherlock (TV), Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms
Genre: Angst, F/M, Gen, Parentlock
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-10
Updated: 2014-05-10
Packaged: 2018-01-24 04:54:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1592363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beargirl1393/pseuds/beargirl1393
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sherlock made one vow at John and Mary's wedding. He intends to honor it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Honoring His Vow

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this a long time ago but never got around to posting it until now, so here it is.

It wasn’t supposed to happen like this.

Sherlock was happy for John and Mary, named godfather to their little daughter, and even bought her a skull (plush, of course, so she could cuddle with it). John had muttered that it was a ‘bit not good’, but he and Mary had both laughed, especially when Margaret wrapped her tiny arms around the skull toy and fell asleep.

He visited the new parents occasionally, mostly when he needed John’s help on a case, and the Watsons would come to 221b when they knew Sherlock wasn’t busy. It was a comfortable routine, one of the few he had and enjoyed. He planned to teach the little girl how to deduce (her mother was intelligent enough, and John wasn’t a complete idiot either, so he knew it would be successful), and was interested in charting her growth and how quickly she reached the appropriate milestones. John joked that Margaret was another experiment for Sherlock, and his former flatmate had smirked and said that she was an experiment, simply his longest running one to date.

He didn’t expect to gain custody of the girl when she was six months old.

He had, slightly begrudgingly, agreed to watch Margaret while John and Mary went on a ‘date’ (although he didn’t see the point in calling it a date when they were already married), as the two hadn’t had much time to themselves since their daughter was born. It was supposed to be simple, the Watsons would drop the baby off with him, go to dinner and a play before returning to pick up their daughter from her godfather.

Instead, because of a careless cab driver, John and Mary Watson were declared legally dead an hour before they were supposed to pick Margaret up, leaving Sherlock to go to the morgue (taking the baby because Mrs. Hudson was out of town visiting her sister and he couldn’t get in touch with Lestrade) to identify their bodies. Harry Watson couldn’t be reached to identify her brother, and he had been named as a medical contact for both of them regardless.

He stood in the morgue, six month old Margaret sleeping soundly in his arms, staring down at what was left of his friends (friends, plural, because somehow Mary had become his friend as well), and although he had no beliefs about life after death and spirits or angels being able to hear you when you speak to them, he promised his friends that he would ensure that their daughter knew them, everything that he knew about them.

After the funeral, Harry made a halfhearted effort to gain custody of Margaret, which Sherlock ruthlessly quashed. She had never met the little girl, knew nothing about her niece whatsoever, and he doubted that she had ever truly known John. Harry’s life was being wasted with every drop of alcohol she poured down her throat, and he would not let Margaret suffer for her aunt’s selfishness.

He took Margaret to visit the cemetery on important days. Christmas (John in a horrid jumper, poisoning Mary’s tea), Easter, their birthdays, their anniversary, and the anniversary of the day they died.

Margaret grew up into a bright, inquisitive little thing, her father’s dark blue eyes shining out of her mother’s face. She loved ‘Uncle Sherlock’ like the father she couldn’t remember, and truthfully had been too young to miss. Sherlock made sure to take care of her, doing his best to make sure she was happy, healthy, and safe. He had help, of course. Mrs. Hudson was only too ready to watch Margaret when he was on a case, and Lestrade was surprisingly knowledgeable about childcare. Mycroft, irritating, infuriating, nosy bastard that he could be, had his uses. His parents were only too keen to spoil their surrogate granddaughter whenever they came to visit (which was, regrettably, more than they had in the past).

Margaret was four and a half years old when they went to the cemetery on the fourth anniversary of her parents’ deaths. As always, Sherlock left two bouquets in front of the tombstone, staring at their names written neatly on the light grey stone.

His first and last vow, to protect all three of them to the best of his abilities. He wasn’t able to save John and Mary, but he would care for their little daughter until the day he died.

Sherlock Holmes had only made one vow, and he would never fail to complete it while he was still alive.


End file.
